Miscellaneous
help
Display help for shell built-in commands.
Synopsis
syntax
help [OPTION]... [PATTERN]
Examples
Get help on the cd builtin
help cd
Short description of export
help -d export
List all shell builtins
help
Man-style help for test builtin
help -m test
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -d | Short description |
| -m | Man-page style format |
| -s | Short usage synopsis only |
About help
The `help` command display help for shell built-in commands. Utility commands cover a broad range of everyday tasks from date manipulation and arithmetic to terminal control and system documentation.
These tools fill in the gaps between major categories and are frequently used in shell scripts, cron jobs, and interactive sessions. The command accepts 3 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man help`).
The 4 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More Miscellaneous Commands
Other commands in the Miscellaneous category